


The Fall Guy Conundrum

by Brumeier



Series: Bite Sized Fic 2019 [27]
Category: Leverage, Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Alternate Universe - Thieves, Dysfunctional Family, Established Relationship, First Meetings, M/M, Prompt Fill, Team Dynamics, Theft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-05
Updated: 2019-07-05
Packaged: 2020-06-11 13:08:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19538434
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brumeier/pseuds/Brumeier
Summary: LJ Comment Fic for TV Crossovers prompt:Stargate Atlantis/Leverage, any, teamworkIn which John and his crew run into problems with another crew in the middle of a job, with the added complication of a family connection.





	The Fall Guy Conundrum

**Author's Note:**

> Also written for 100 Fandoms: Late

_John, we have a problem._

“How bad?”

_Ronon’s toothache bad._

Crap. That was the kind of problem they didn’t have time for.

“What’s bad?” Rodney asked. He never wore an earpiece, but since he was always with John it wasn’t usually a problem. 

“Don’t know yet. Teyla, do you need me to come out?”

_I think that would be best._

“Give me five minutes.” John nudged Rodney with his foot. “Take a break, McKay.”

Rodney was half-in/half-out of a heating vent, accessing the building’s data lines in a way that would hopefully go unnoticed. Once he was finished, he’d be able to hack in remotely to their computer systems and download all the information they needed for their latest op.

“Maybe you didn’t notice, Sheppard, but I’m in the middle of some very delicate work here.” Rodney’s voice echoed a little, so it was good they’d snuck in so late at night. The only one around to hear would be the security guard, but he was five floors down at his desk.

“Take an ear piece, then.” John always kept a spare in his black cargo pants. “I’ll be back soon.”

Rodney stuck his hand out of the vent, accepted the ear piece, and got back to work without any further words. 

John slipped out of the office. Teyla was monitoring things from the reception area at the end of the hall, which was dim with only the safety lights on. He couldn’t begin to guess what the problem was. His crew was a well-oiled machine, everyone knew their jobs and did them without hesitation.

He was caught up short when he realized that his well-oiled machine was engaged with a couple of bogeys also dressed in stealth black. Even more surprising was the angry expression on Lorne’s face. Evan Lorne, who was normally the most laid-back person on the crew. Evan Lorne, who was poking the chest of a taller, thinner, older man with enough force to leave a bruise.

“…excuses! I don’t want your help. _We_ don’t need it.”

“Someone want to fill me in?” John asked.

Teyla was standing behind the reception desk, watching Lorne and the other man argue. Normally Lorne stayed offsite – he was a first-class forger and his skillset was rarely needed in the field – but he’d wanted in on this one because he was looking to diversify a little.

“Who the hell are you?” the man asked. There was woman with him, young and blonde and looking very concerned.

“I think that’s my question,” John replied.

“Nathan Ford,” Lorne supplied, and wow, did he sound bitter about it.

“What’re you here to steal?” John asked Nathan.

“Data, same as you,” was the response.

“It would seem Mr. Ford is here on behalf of Chelsea Carr,” Teyla supplied.

Well, that was problematic. Based on the information Rodney had been able to dig up from publically-accessible documents, Chelsea was the person they’d picked to be the fall guy for the op. She was already being investigated by the company for impropriety, so it seemed logical to add embezzlement to the list to cover their tracks.

“Your patsy is my client,” Nathan said. “We’re trying to clear her name and take down the real bad guys in the company.”

“We only have your word on that,” Lorne said. “And your word isn’t worth much.”

“You two know each other?” John asked, looking between them.

“Evan is my nephew.”

_Sheppard? What’s taking so long? Is there trouble?_

“Everything’s fine, Rodney. Keep working.”

While John had been momentarily distracted by Rodney, Nathan’s blonde teammate had disappeared. Crap!

“Where’d she go?”

“You’re making a mistake,” Nathan said. “Step aside and let me do my job.”

“Oh, now you’re suddenly interested in doing the right thing? No. It’s too late.” Lorne was practically quivering with rage and John was sure he’d be throwing punches in the next moment. 

“Stand down, Lorne,” John warned.

“Your mother forgave me,” Nathan said. 

“I’m not my mother. And I’m not that little boy on the commune anymore. We needed you and you abandoned us. I won’t –”

Whatever else Lorne said was lost to the indignant squawking in John’s ear.

_Sheppard! There’s a woman in this vent and she’s staring at me in a very creepy way!_

“That’s it,” John said, already heading back down the hall. Teyla was more than capable of dealing with Lorne. “We’re bagging this op. Immediate exfil.”

 _Copy_ , Ronon said.

 _Copy_ , Teyla said.

 _Copy_ , Lorne snarled.

 _She’s trying to steal my tech!_ Rodney shouted.

“Let her have it, McKay.”

John went back to the office where he’d left Rodney to find the man still partially inside the heating vent, heels digging into the carpet as he struggled with Nathan’s blonde partner. John nudged Rodney’s hip with his boot.

“Rodney. Time to go.”

“Let go of my cables!” Rodney yelled, his voice echoing in the vent.

“You let go!” the woman yelled back.

 _Security is on the move_ , Ronon reported. Not much of a heads up before the alarms started sounding.

Time to be more proactive. John reached down and dragged Rodney out of the vent by his ankles.

“Are you insane?”

“Security is coming and the cops won’t be far behind. We have to go.”

“But –”

“No buts. Let’s go.” 

Rodney packed up his gear, grumbling all the while and shooting death stares at the heating vent. John poked his head out in the hall, making sure the coast was clear.

“Anyone have eyes on security?” There was no immediate response from John’s team, which put his internal alert system as high as it would go. “Teyla, do you copy?”

 _Ya’ll wanna hit the nearest stairwell, and be snappy about it_ , a stranger’s voice said in John’s ear.

“Who’s on this channel?”

 _Look, your people and my people are having a difference of opinion_ , the man said. _Parker says you’re good, so I’m helping. Stairwell. Now._

John diverted, and Rodney grabbed his arm. “Are you really going to listen to a complete stranger? He’s probably leading us right to the cops!”

“No options, no time,” John replied shortly. “Stay close.”

_Go down one floor. Make a left, look for office 403._

John followed the guy’s instructions, hoping he wasn’t making a huge mistake. He didn’t know what the hell was happening with his crew, but he was more than a little pissed none of them were doing their jobs at the moment. 

Office 403 had a conveniently unlocked door and an open window, which the blonde woman was standing in front of. She was strapped into a rig like the kind Teyla used, which meant their egress would be down the side of the building. 

“Again? No. Absolutely no.”

“I’ve never dropped anyone,” the woman said. “Not accidentally.”

“Oh, that’s very comforting. What are you doing? Stop that!” 

Rodney slapped at her hands but she still managed to get him strapped into his own rig pretty efficiently.

“I only have the two,” she said apologetically.

“We can make it work,” John said.

“What? Wait. Wait! Sheppard –”

The woman pushed Rodney out the window, then turned to look at John. “175?”

“180.”

“Close enough.” She pulled John into a hug, grinning at him. “Hold on.”

They went out the window, where Rodney was still dangling and cursing and clutching at the ropes for dear life.

“She’s trying to kill me!” 

“This isn’t your first time on the ropes, McKay,” John said. “Start lowering yourself.”

 _Right beneath you_ , Ronon said.

It was an awkward position to be in, and John was sure he’d get an earful about it later from Rodney, but he let the woman take the lead in getting them safely back to earth while he just hung on and tried not to move.

“Come here often?” he joked.

 _She’s spoken for_ , said the stranger on the radio.

“So is he,” Rodney snapped.

“Hardison usually screams when we do this,” the woman said cheerfully. “You’re better at it.”

_Hey! I only scream when you push me!_

“You responsible for the von Langen heist?”

“I can neither confirm nor deny,” John replied with a smirk.

That one had made national news, thanks to Rodney’s clever use of the hologram to delay the museum finding out the painting was gone. They’d returned it to its rightful owners, whose family had lost the artwork and so much more during World War II.

“It was pretty impressive.”

“Yes, it was!” Rodney down from above them, since he was going much slower. “A work of genius, some might say.”

As promised, Ronon was waiting down below to help them out of the gear.

“Lorne’s in the car,” he reported. “Never seen him angry before. I kind of like it.”

That was nothing John wanted to hear more about, so he helped Rodney out of the second rig. 

“You’re getting better at this,” he said.

“The next time someone pushes me out a window, I’m leaking their location to the FBI,” Rodney grumbled. He gave John a critical once-over. “I’m not getting laid tonight, am I?”

While it was true that John wasn’t feeling the usual rush of adrenalin and horniness he usually did after a job – possibly because they didn’t finish it – he almost never said no to a warm and welcoming Rodney.

“I could be compelled.”

A smile flickered at the edges of Rodney’s crooked mouth. “I’ll see what I can do.”

They quickly made their way down the street to the rendezvous point, pulling off their black shirts to reveal less suspicious clothing underneath. Teyla intercepted John as soon as they arrived. 

“I have been talking with Mr. Ford and his crew,” she said. “I believe we can work together for a mutually beneficial outcome.”

John looked over at Rodney and Ronon, who were leaning against the black SUV that was their getaway vehicle. Rodney already had his tablet out. The tinted glass kept him from seeing Lorne, who was presumably sulking inside. That was a conversation John wasn’t looking forward to, particularly since it seemed to be so emotionally fraught.

Then he looked at Nathan’s crew, who were standing next to a black van. Nathan, who was clearly the leader, stood with his arms crossed and a neutral expression on his face. Beside him was the blonde woman and a tall black man in a sweater vest, and in a defensive position in front of those two was a guy with a blue bandanna wrapped around his head; he was obviously the muscle of the operation.

“You think we can trust him?” John asked Teyla.

“I believe it is worth sitting down and hearing him out, John.”

John hated to think they might’ve been wrong about Chelsea Carr. That was the only reason he even contemplated giving more than five minutes to Nathan and his people. Well, that, and owing them for their assistance with the exfil.

“Neutral territory,” John said to Nathan.

“I know just the place,” Nathan replied with a grin. “Follow us.”

“How fast can you dig up some information on him?” John asked as he climbed into the SUV.

“Already on it,” Rodney replied, focused on the tablet.

John didn’t mind joining forces for one case, if the terms could be worked out and the story about Chelsea turned out to be false, but he wasn’t going in blind. 

It never hurt to have a little leverage.

**Author's Note:**

>  **AN:** Since this 'verse was loosely based on _Leverage_ , it seemed like a fun idea to bring the two worlds together. And since I had this big idea for 100 Fandoms of writing all my fills with family ties of some kind, I decided to make Nathan and Evan related, and Evan super angry because when his father committed suicide, Nathan just kind of walked away from the family (we all know how badly he deals with family tragedy). It's been a long time since I've watched _Leverage_ , so I apologize for any inconsistencies.
> 
> Super special thanks to SherlockianSyndromes for the inspiring prompt theme at [comment_fic](https://comment-fic.livejournal.com/1020690.html) and a spot of research, and nagi_schwarz for the perfect prompt!


End file.
